U.S. Stocks Tick Higher as Traders Digest Corporate News

U.S. equity markets climbed mildly Monday as traders eyed somewhat encouraging data on the factory sectors in America and the eurozone.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.6 points, or 0.15%, to 15639, the S&P 500 gained 6.3 points, or 0.36%, to 1768 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 14.6 points, or 0.37%, to 3936.

The broad S&P 500 climbed for the fourth-straight week last week, and is up close to 24% for the year. The bullish sentiment continued through Monday as traders parsed through reports on the European manufacturing sector. The eurozone's factory sector, as a whole, expanded at the swiftest pace in 26 months, with new orders increasing for the fourth-straight month, according to a report by Markit.

"The eurozone manufacturing economy is undergoing its strongest growth period for two and a half years, since the mounting uncertainty caused by the escalating sovereign debt crisis hit
Businesses hard in 2011," Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist said in the report.

"While it is in some respects disappointing that the PMI has failed to show a steeper pick up over the last two months, the recent growth revealed by the survey indicates a marked turnaround in the health of the manufacturing economy."

A report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. factory orders rising 1.7% in September, matching estimates. The gauge fell 0.1% in August.

In corporate news, BlackBerry (BBRY) ditched plans to sell itself, and instead said it will receive a $1 billion investment from a group led by Fairfax Financial. The ailing smartphone maker also said CEO Thorsten Heins will step down, and be replaced on an interim basis by John Chen.

Elsewhere, in commodities, U.S. crude oil prices fell 49 cents, or 0.52%, to $94.12 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline slid 0.77% to $2.526 a gallon. In metals, gold rose $6.50, or 0.49%, to $1,320 a troy ounce.

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U.S. stocks ended down on Tuesday in a retreat from the previous session's sharp rally as energy shares declined and the dollar edged up, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered their ninth straight quarterly rise.